Inner Demons
by Oxymoronic Alliteration
Summary: A look at what was going through Tim's mind as he interviewed Jason Geckler in "Deception". Birthday fic for channeld!


Jason Geckler—Geck, as he'd been known by his two friends (or bullying victims, which they most likely were)—had been a statue of stoicism and smugness from the moment Tim stepped into the interrogation room. The teen had sat across from him, arms crossed in a relaxed manner, as though he thought for sure that some NCIS agent couldn't break him. It was a smirk Tim had seen many times in his life, usually right before some guy's fist connected with his head.

Many different faces flashed through his mind in the short time it took him to walk in and sit in the chair opposite Jason; all his past bullies had become morphed into one. This mega-bully had no distinguishing marks or actual physical features, save for that maddening smirk.

He fell into the seat, aware of Jason's eyes looking him down, taking him in. What was Jason's first impression of him? Did he immediately recognize him as a geek? Did he assume that a guy in a white turtleneck and tweed jacket couldn't possibly be intimidating or tough? He probably assumed Tim was a big old softie who would crumble at the first sign of trouble.

If this were twelve years ago when Tim was still a lowly high school student, he would have been right. But this wasn't twelve years ago, he wasn't a high school student, lowly or otherwise, and he most certainly wasn't soft.

"Jason Geckler," he greeted in a confident, but mellow tone, "I'm Special Agent McGee, NCIS."

The kid wasn't impressed. He sat back in his chair, saying, "Like I told your other agents, I'm not saying anything until my dad gets here."

But Tim saw through it. Behind that tough guy demeanor was a scared teenager. The thing about bullies is that they only preyed on those they knew were weaker than them, only picked fights they knew they could win; they were really cowards in that respect. While Tim couldn't say for certain who would win in a hand-to-hand combat between him and Jason, in this case brawn wasn't necessary. He had the power no matter what and Jason wasn't stupid; he knew he would eventually have to give in. But for the time being, he would do whatever he could to make things more difficult.

After a small bit of going back and forth with the teen, Tim knew it was time to haul out something a little stronger, something that would smack that smirk right off Jason's face (metaphorically speaking, of course; Tim couldn't smack the teenager no matter how much he wanted to). He knew his tactic.

He stood, walked around to the other side of the table, and sat back. "Tim and Dan…must be pretty scared of you, huh?"

Jason fell right into his trap. "What makes you say that?" he asked cautiously, though he looked quite pleased by the comment.

"Come on," Tim said in a low tone, as though he and Jason were speaking in secrecy about something only they knew. "They're obviously geeks. Yeah, we used to shove them into lockers, pull their gym shorts off in class, drops their books down the toilet," he listed, recalling every grievance he had suffered at the hands of his former tormentors. It took a lot to swallow his anger down and keep it locked up while he remained cool and collected on the outside.

It worked as he saw Jason's wall begin to crumble as he grinned with pride.

"And it's even better if they start crying, right?" Tim asked with a wide grin of his own.

"Or wet their pants," Jason added. The two of them shared a laugh, Jason at the thought of a weak classmate urinating on himself at the very thought of getting beat up and Tim at the thought of turning the tables on this tough guy.

Tim continued to string him along, gently stroking the kid's ego as though his accomplishments in bullying were something to be lauded. Jason sat there, soaking it all in without a clue as to what would happen next.

"You know, I really haven't thought about it too much," Jason replied when Tim pointed out how his name would forever live on in the memories of his many victims, while their names would fade into nothing more than ghosts of people he'd once known in high school.

"Well, I have," Tim responded. Then, in a flash, he clutched the back of Jason's chair and whipped him around so that the two were facing each other. "You know why?" he asked, looking into the eyes of the kid and not caring that he was basically bullying someone ten years younger than him. Because when he looked at Jason, he didn't see a terrified sixteen-year-old; he saw the face of every bully he'd endured while growing up, the inner demons that had gnawed at him for as long as he could remember. It spurned him on. "Because I was one of those kids, and I've been looking forward to this day my entire life, dirtbag."

"Hey, I didn't do anything," Jason said with a scowl, though it was obvious he was nervous.

Tim didn't falter. "I've got you for aiding and abetting a kidnapping, interfering in a federal investigation, and then selling stolen property. You know what that means? That means they can try you as an adult, _Geck_," he said, emphasizing Jason's nickname as though he were hurling an insult. "And when you're in prison, every night when you're crying yourself to sleep, I want you to think of me, tough guy." He flicked his finger against Jason's neck and got satisfaction out of watching him jump.

"We're done here," he said as he grabbed his things. Let the kid sit there and whimper for all her cared. "See you in court," he added as one final blow.

"Wait," Jason protested. Tim stopped in the doorway, but didn't look back. "Look, I found it, okay. I can show you where."

Like that, Tim heard and saw his inner demons—every bully who had ever shoved, punched, smacked, insulted, or teased him—falls like a ton of bricks. A boom sounded in is mind as the bullies crumbled like stone and sank into the ground, leaving nothing behind but a serenity he'd not felt in quite some time. He didn't let Jason see the smirk that now crossed his face.

"What are you?" Jason grumbled as Tim retook his seat. "Some sort of supergeek?"

Tim's eyes flashed. "I'm a Special Agent," he reminded in a cool tone. "Now are you going to cooperate or do I have to tell my boss to toss you in jail for the night?" He couldn't do that, of course, but as far as Jason knew he could.

"Dude, I got it at Braddock Mall," Jason grumbled. "It was on the top level of the parking lot. Now can I go?"

"You can wait here until your father comes to pick you up."

"Great. Anything else?"

Tim hadn't had any intention of adding anything more to the talk, but the snide tone of the question made it impossible for him to resist. "Yeah," he said, sitting back against the table once more. "If I hear so much as a whisper about you picking on your classmates, I'll haul you back in myself and see what charge I can make stick. And if you think I'm scary, you should meet my boss." Again, it was a threat he'd never be able to follow through on, but the very idea was terrifying enough to get through to Jason.

He slammed the door closed and made the call to Gibbs, letting him know where Jason had found the phone. Then he slipped into the adjacent observation room. The technician gave him a thumbs-up, but Tim turned his attention to Jason, still sitting frozen in his seat. Gone was the confident smirk, replaced by a hollow face that stared straight ahead.

Inside of him, his inner demons shrieked in defeat. After twelve long years and harboring them in his mind, he'd finally beaten them.

* * *

**AN:** Thank you for reading!


End file.
